Frozen by Fire, Burned by You
by Squall's-angel03
Summary: Cold, desolate. A town abandoned long ago, betrayed by it’s own inhabitants.Destroyed.Sasuke and Itachi, two brothers who are about to find out a lot more abput each other's lives. Rated M for disturbing content later on,better inside trust me not for kid
1. Without a Reason

Okay this chapter might either make you very confused or make you think the story is a load of bull I don't know but I assure you it's not : )

Anyways you'll get the plot by the next chapter (I hope) so read that before you make your mind up

Oh the characters are slightly different than in the anime I'll tell you about them before you meet them first difference is Sasuke is 15 and Itachi is 25 (still brothers)

**EDIT** it's AU (forgot to mention that lol)

**Chapter one: Without a reason**

Cold, desolate. A town abandoned long ago, betrayed by it's own inhabitants. Destroyed. Although it had been nearly a decade Sasuke could still remember the day clearly. He could smell the smoke, feel it thick and heavy as it bogged him down. He could feel the intense heat of the fire as it charred his skin. He could hear the screams of those around him, remember clearly the one man who had tried to get him out of harms way. But the clearest memory was the feeling of apathy he had felt for the first time that day, a feeling that had never quite left him. Even now as he walked back into the town he couldn't bring himself to feel anything about the fire. It had shattered his life, killed almost an entire town. And yet he didn't feel anything about it. He wasn't sure, but perhaps it was this sense of indifference that made him want to return. Maybe if he relived that day he'd finally feel something, anything about it. Or maybe he was going back because he wanted to see _him_ again. He had no reason to want to see his brother again, but to Sasuke no reason was the best reason. He was going back to the town because there was no reason too, trying to think of one was just a way to keep his mind open to suggestions. He knew it would become apparent sooner or later, he just hoped he didn't have to wait too long. The suspense was killing him.

Walking along a once familiar street, Sasuke marveled at how little he could remember about life before the fire. True he had only been five at the time, but you do expect to remember something about the first five years of your life. A loving family, days out in the park, all that was missing from his life. Maybe it had never even happened. Although as he walked past the park now he wondered if he'd have actually wanted to go there. The climbing frames looked more threatening than playful, the blackened wood no longer had its bright primary colored coating. The swings were groaning ominously. Some of the town children had never left, their corpses draped across the various chunks of play equipment still standing, playing for all eternity. But not having fun, for their jaws stretched into silent screams, their limbs twisted defensively. Even in death you could feel their terror. He felt a slight pang as he realized that these were probably the kid's he had played with many years ago. He sighed and walked on, making his way up a once tree lined path to the place he had formerly called home. The path had been made of concrete slabs with the cement borders between them decorated with shells and slits of colored glass, laid down flat so that you were quite safe to walk barefoot over them. Now what little glass there was left stuck up alarmingly, the shells had been broken by panicking towns folk trying to escape the blaze. Sasuke had to walk on the bare earth where the grass had been; the heat had cracked both the pavement and the road so badly it was almost impossible to walk on them without tripping, impaling yourself on the shards of glass that hadn't melted. One particular piece of glass caught his eye; it hadn't been blackened by the fire, instead it was a deep blood red. Looking at it Sasuke wondered if it had really been there at the time of the fire or not. He pocketed it, feeling slightly unsettled. It couldn't have been there through the fire, not when he compared it to the rest of the town. He put it to the back of his mind and walked on, determined not to let fear be the first emotion he felt.

In what felt like no time at all Sasuke found himself standing on the front porch of his old house. It had been one of grandest houses in the whole town; it had over five acres of land behind it and sat on top of the tallest hill around, giving Sasuke a clear view of the whole town. For this community a four bedroom house was luxury, and Sasuke's happened to have seven rooms, along with countless other rooms that had no definite use. He was surprised in a way to find the key to the front door under the mat, just as it always had been; something so routine and normal seemed out of place in a town like this. He unlocked the door and stood tentatively on the threshold, trying to compose himself. He hadn't been back to the house since before the fire, he had been elsewhere during the fire and hadn't been allowed back in after, so he had no idea what he may find. He stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind him. He regretted this decision almost immediately, for the only sources of light left were the grimy windows. He walked lightly up the hall, little clouds of dust rising with every step. He headed towards the living room, hovering at the door. Nothing. He walked through the room into the deserted dining room and then on into the kitchen. So mum and dad hadn't been eating dinner either. He frowned slightly and walked back into the hall towards the stairs. He wasn't exactly looking for them, he just wondered if they were here. He reached the bottom of the stairs then paused. He thought he could see faint footprints in the dust. He hesitated, then climbed the stairs anyway. He didn't feel secure, but he didn't feel overly threatened either. The glass, the footprints, whoever had left them evidently didn't wish him harm. At least not until they'd met anyway. He squinted, trying to see through the haze. There weren't as many windows upstairs, but he could remember the way to his own room. He went in and stood for a moment, trying to let his eyes adjust to the darkness. It didn't smell the same as the rest of the house, it smelt of decay and damp. Strange that this was the only room so far that hadn't smelt of burning. He needed to open the blinds at least, but he recoiled slightly as the smell got stronger. He held his breath and took a step forward, then froze as something unfamiliar crunched under his foot. He stepped back, then decided to leave. He felt slightly uneasy that it was his own room, the one place he had thought would bring back his childhood, that had disturbed him the most. He decided to come back later if he could find a light of some sort, but for now he'd make do with satisfying another urge. He had never been allowed into his brothers room as a child, but now he felt it could give him some insight into why he behaved the way he did. He made his way along the hall, stopping in front of the only door in his house he had never opened. He pushed the door open and walked in. No one could stop him this time.

not very detailed plot wise this chapter I'm afraid...well hope you're not too freaked out/confused/bored reveiwers always welcomed (hint hint), flamers not (ha, I could make a pun out of that since the story's about a fire) next chapter up later today hopefully keep reading it'll go somewhere trust me ;)


	2. A picture of innocence?

Hey oh chapter two now no new characters as of yet (boo hoo) buuut a little clue on how their past relationship was...okay a BIG mofo clue but you'll still have to guess a little : )

Keep on reading; I'm not at the good part yet!

**Chapter 2:A picture of innocence**?

Sasuke left the door open; he didn't want to make the same mistake as last time. Though the amount of light coming through the windows was minimal it was better than being in complete darkness, especially in this room. Through the haze he could make out a desk covered with papers and little trinkets in front of a reasonably large window set in the wall to the right of the door. There were shelves full of books on the wall to the left and a bed directly opposite the door, placed in such a way that their mother could do her stupid 'nightly checks' simply by opening the door and peeking in. These checks were supposed to stop her children being able to sneak out at night, but they never seemed to stop Itachi. A chest of drawers covered with yet more pages, probably coursework, sat under the shelf and a chair sat by the desk. Other than that the room was more or less empty. Sasuke looked around suspiciously; surely there was something more, some reason why he hadn't been allowed in here as a child. _No reason_, that was the excuse his brother had used. No reason. Maybe that's why he always thought of no reason being the best excuse to do something. He walked towards the desk to see what was on the pages, but suddenly froze mid step. He thought he heard a noise coming from behind, but when he turned there was nothing there. _Probably just a mouse_ he thought, turning towards the desk again. He was about to walk forward when another soft creak of the floorboards caught his attention. He paused again, listening closely. For a moment there was nothing so he continued, then jumped out of his skin when the door slammed shut, darkening the room significantly. Hesitantly, he turned to face whoever was there.

No one. Sasuke stood for a moment, his heart rate gradually slowing. He felt silly for getting scared by such insignificant things. As he stood berating himself he noticed there was something else in the room, something more like what he had expected. He walked towards the now closed door, staring mesmerized at the sections of wall either side. "Sick bastard…" he muttered, captivated by the pictures that had been pinned all over the wall. It was hard to make out all of them in the dim light, but what he could see was enough. Children being slaughtered, raped, burned, tortured, impaled and generally mistreated in the most horrific ways imaginable. It looked like a lot of time had gone into them; they were drawn perfectly, right down to the most intricate detail, drawn in that disturbing, gothic fashion that had gotten Itachi an A in his art exam, along with a friendly recommendation to his parents that he see a counselor. More and more details became apparent as his eyes adjusted to the change in light; the children's ages seemed to range from about three to fifteen and, strangely, they all seemed to be male. There was something familiar about them. Sasuke strained his eyes, trying to see them all clearly. He leant in closer, stared for a few moments then gasped, his eyes widening in shock. He felt sick. They were all pictures of him.

"So this is what you did in your spare time, you perverted fucker," Sasuke muttered darkly to himself, remembering all those hours Itachi had spent alone in his room, all the paper and drawing utensils he had asked mum to buy him for his art coursework. Some project, something told him their assignment title was not 'ways to torture and or kill your younger brother'. He shook his head in disgust and decided to leave the house before he unearthed any thing more.

As he walked back down the heat cracked path he found himself thinking of his primary school, thinking about all the lonely break times and lunch times spent by himself in a corner of the playing field, thinking of those wretched little children, some of whom were probably still in the school, and of how they tortured him along with any poor child to try and make friends with him. He had hated primary school, he knew that, what he couldn't understand was why he bothered going. There must have been something motivating him, he usually avoided things he didn't like with a passion. Maybe he was only remembering the bad times, after all there were so many gaps in his memory any thing could've happened. Still, he did wonder.

_It's because you felt safe_.

The sudden thought surprised him. At home he had friends. At school he had no one. How could he have possibly felt safe in a place so full of people who hated him?

_He wasn't there._

"Who's he?" Sasuke asked this new insightful voice under his breath. The voice didn't answer. Voices in his head, great. Just bloody well great. His brother was a complete nut and now he was turning schizophrenic. Perfect. The closer he got to the town, the more his temper rose. He didn't know why he was getting angry or even who he was mad at, he was just pissed off and that was that. It was probably the shock of having discovered his brothers favorite pastime, though as he thought more about the pictures he found himself calming down slightly. The anger soon gave way to anxiety as he turned a corner and found himself face to face with the building that had haunted him for months after the fire; the high school. He hadn't planned on going there, not if he could help it. Just walking past made him uneasy. He could still see the flames; feel the desperate push of bodies trying to escape their fate. He was positive that no good could come from visiting a place he'd be afraid of since the day he set foot in it. But it seemed to be calling to him, inviting him to come closer. He sighed and went with the impulse. There was no where better to go.

In Sasuke's home town when a child reached primary seven they had three choices; stay in school and go to the town's high school, leave school and train under one of the towns folk or, for the rich families, be shipped out to a big name school. Understandably for a town so small most children could only do one of the first two. Itachi had attended the high school, though almost all of his teachers had said he would be better going to a high-class school, their reason being 'if you've got the grades and you've got the money then why the hell not?' His parents told them they seemed to be forgetting about metal stability being an important factor.

The building itself made Sasuke feel tense; the sheer size and design was enough to tell him the thing was a safety hazard. Six stories high with one emergency exit on the ground floor, it had been the easiest target in the fire. There were two broad staircases connecting each floor, along with several narrow ones that students weren't usually allowed to use. They had been allowed to use them that day of course, not that it made any difference. They needed more doors not more stairs. He walked up to the door and pushed. All that remained was the iron framework laced with pieces of charcoal, and it was firmly shut. Now the school seemed to be reluctant to let him in. Sasuke threw his weight at the shell and, slowly, it creaked open. He was greeted by an overwhelming smell of burnt and decaying flesh. Gagging slightly he entered the front hall, a jacket sleeve held to his mouth to try and block the smell. The tall windows let in a little light but, like his own house, the years of neglect meant the windows were of limited use. He leaned against the wall, giving his eyes time to adjust yet again to a change in brightness. He'd only ever been in this building once; the day of the fire he had been sent to give Itachi a piece of coursework that was supposedly due in that day. He never found out if it actually was or not, almost as soon as he got in the building the fire was started. Memories of that day came flooding back all too often, being trapped in a crowd that was slowly burning to death, screaming in fear and agony, jostling him, pushing him. The teacher that had tried to help him, taking his hand to lead him out of the scum at the door and then swiftly dying of smoke inhalation. At the time he'd thought nothing of Itachi's request but now, after ten years of thinking about it, he thought maybe Itachi had just wanted him to be there, one more person to watch his crowning moment, to watch him ruin his own life along with the lives of so many others. Sick Bastard. This thought, combined with the odor of the school and the countless corpses there were likely to be in it, proved too much for Sasuke, and he turned and ran from the building, not caring if it held the answers to his questions or not, as long as he should never have to go back there again. He didn't want to see what ever was in there, the school was undoubtedly the place where most people had perished. The deadest building in town. Relieved to be out in the open air again, Sasuke sat on one of the old playground swings and wondered where to go next. He couldn't think of any more buildings that were significant that day, except maybe the old fire station. He sighed and pushed his long hair back from his face. It would be dark soon, and looking up he could see a huge storm cloud. He needed to find shelter. He needed sleep. He stood up to go, stretching his sore arm. That door had been heavy. But not as heavy as the force was that whacked him over the head, knocking him to the ground. "Fuck you Itachi" he mumbled as he fell into darkness. "I wasn't ready…"

Bit longer this time...Okay so do you get it yet? Well you're not supposed to you get more and more each chapter I'm too mean to give it to ya all at once ; p more detailed next time,more about the day of the fire, another key event being introduced(hopefully) etc now I'm too tired to write...zzz...and I need to study : ( r/r plz!


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